Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)
Northern House Martin (Delichon urbicum) - HBW 9, p. 674
French: Hirondelle de fenêtre
German: Mehlschwalbe
Spanish: Avión Común
Other common names: House Martin, Common/European/Western House Martin
Taxonomy: Hirundo urbica Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Forms a superspecies with D. dasypus; sometimes considered conspecific, but breeding ranges overlap (e.g. S of L Baikal). Nominate race exhibits largely clinal decrease in size from N to S, but abrupt size reduction in S Europe; birds in WC Europe sometimes separated as race fenestrarum. Race lagopodum and nominate breed parapatrically in Buryatia (S & E of L Baikal); review of taxonomic status of former required. Occasionally hybridizes with Hirundo rustica. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- urbicum (Linnaeus, 1758) - W, C & N Europe E to W Siberia; winters mainly sub-Saharan Africa.
- meridionale (Hartert, 1910) - S Europe, N Africa and WC Asia (E to Tien Shan and Kashmir); winters Africa and SW Asia.
- lagopodum (Pallas, 1811) - E Asia from middle and upper R Yenisey, Altai Mts and N Mongolia E to Anadyrland, Sea of Okhotsk and NE China; probably winters mainly SE Asia.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A huge group of migrating birds flying and resting on wires. Locality Robe, Ethiopia (ssp meridionale)
Josep del Hoyo 3 December 2005 7 years ago 44 sec 4.5 -
A colony collecting mud and building the nests. Locality Monfragüe National Park, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain (ssp meridionale)
Alex García · Videoaves 20 May 2010 2 years ago 40 sec 4.4 -
a bird in nice light building a nest Locality Vossemeer, Dronten, Flevoland Province, Netherlands (ssp urbicum)
Daniêl Jimenez 29 May 2011 1 year ago 1 min 15 sec 4.3 -
An adult perched besides a Collared Sand Martin Locality Wedeler Marsh-the Carl Zeiss Bird Station, Hamburg, Germany (ssp urbicum)
Josep del Hoyo 15 August 2006 6 years ago 17 sec 4.3 -
A close-up of a juvenile, Locality Riaño, León, Castile and Leon, Spain
Javier Ortas 8 August 2009 3 years ago 34 sec 4.2 -
A group gathering mud from a puddle Locality Tietar Valley, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain (ssp urbicum)
Brendan Marnell 31 March 2007 5 years ago 23 sec 4.2
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building the nest
Locality Laveno-Mombello, Lombardy Region, Italy (ssp meridionale)
Cristiano Crolle 19 May 2012 51 weeks ago 4.3 -
Portrait of an adult bird
Locality El Rocío, Doñana National Park, Andalucia, Spain
Rafael Merchante 22 April 2013 1 week ago ADDED LAST MONTH 4.2 -
juvenile perched on a garden chair, note white edge of the wing flight feathers, especially in tertiary and blurred contrast bet
Locality Girona City, Girona Province, Catalonia, Spain (ssp meridionale)
Ferran Vaquero 17 August 2006 2 years ago 4 -
A bird feeding chicks.
Locality Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia Region, Greece (ssp meridionale)
Theo Mamais 1 June 2000 31 weeks ago 3.8 -
House martin nesting on my house in 2011
Locality York, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire, England, Great Britain
rcannon 18 June 2011 32 weeks ago 3.8 -
Two birds perched on a wire
Locality Atamaría, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain
Javier Noguera 23 August 2011 27 weeks ago 3.7
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Birds calling in a breeding colony. Locality Bulgaria
(ssp meridionale)
Iva Hristova 10 May 2009 3 years ago 3
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